Russia is increasing illegal fishing off Africa under the guise of scientific research

Under the guise of a scientific expedition, Russia is actually paving the way for large-scale commercial fishing in the waters of West Africa.

Since August 2024, Russian vessels have been actively operating in the Gulf of Guinea, officially presenting themselves as participants in a marine scientific research mission with the participation of 18 African countries. This is reported by the OSINT initiative Russians Forces Spotter.

In fact, this is a covert operation to map fish resources, which aims to prepare the basis for the full-fledged entry of the Russian commercial fishing fleet into the region.

In parallel, large-tonnage Russian trawlers and support vessels are already operating near the coast of Mauritania, which indicates well-coordinated reconnaissance and the start of operations. At the same time, automatic identification systems (AIS) are often disabled, which raises suspicions of illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing.

According to experts, Russia is deliberately exploiting the weakness of maritime governance and the lack of environmental control in West African coastal states. This allows it to advance its interests, threatening both marine ecosystems and the existence of local artisanal fisheries.

The deployment of such “scientific” missions is a typical Kremlin tactic — with a hybrid logic and commercial-military goals under the facade of peaceful cooperation. As the experience of other regions shows, “research” is soon followed by exploitation.

USM previously reported that China is strengthening its defense partnership with Africa amid ambitions to create new naval bases.